


Avoidance Issues

by Finely Honed (jaqen_hgar)



Series: Imagine Tony & Bucky [52]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor, Arc Reactor Issues, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Everyone Is Alive, Hurt Tony, Insecure Tony, Love Confessions, M/M, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-18
Updated: 2015-07-18
Packaged: 2018-04-09 23:36:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4368671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaqen_hgar/pseuds/Finely%20Honed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <span class="small">Prompt: An EMP or something makes Tony's arc reactor stop working and Bucky has to help Tony breathe until they can get back to the tower so Tony can fix himself. + imagine Tony thinking he is gonna die and confessing his love to Bucky only to survive and thus avoid Bucky whenever he can.</span>
</p><p>It wasn’t so much a matter of being able to breathe as it was a matter of staying conscious as cardiac arrest kicked in. He’d shielded the suit against EMPs, so whatever it was he’d been hit with wasn’t that. Didn’t so much matter though, since it still managed to damage the arc reactor enough that it was kicking on and offline.</p><p>“Almost there,” he heard. “C’mon, Tony, don’t quit on me now.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avoidance Issues

“This isn’t how,” Tony tried to say, but it hurt too much.

It wasn’t so much a matter of being able to breathe as it was a matter of staying conscious as cardiac arrest kicked in. He’d shielded the suit against EMPs, so whatever it was he’d been hit with wasn’t that. Didn’t so much matter though, since it still managed to damage the arc reactor enough that it was kicking on and offline.

“Almost there,” he heard. “C’mon, Tony, don’t quit on me now.”

It was a pity, because under different circumstances, he’d be on cloud nine. Bucky Barnes had him in his arms, practically had his lips pressed against Tony’s forehead, he was so close. Yup, curled up all safe and sound in Bucky’s arms was exactly where he wanted to be. Only, you know. Not dying.

Which, considering he was on the way out, maybe he should actually get around to telling Bucky how into this little scenario he was. Before…

“I love you,” Tony gasped before blacking out. The last thing he saw was Bucky’s pretty blue eyes going wide with surprise.

+

The first thing he saw was Bruce’s beautiful face coming into focus above him. “Wha?” he managed to choke out, twitching and reaching for the reactor. Solid, beneath his fingers, humming away happily again. “Guh?”

“Fresh reactor core,” Bruce explained, looking Tony’s vitals over. “That was uncomfortably close, Tony.”

He relaxed back against the bed, and let his eyes drift shut again. Whew. He was starting to get sick of close calls. At least he’d gotten hugged out of it all. Sort of. Cradled. Yes, Bucky had wrapped him up, and… and… he’d thought… with the dying. And opened his mouth.

Oh.

Oh no.

Tony sat bolt upright. “I told Bucky I love him!”

“Well. Good?” Tony gawped at him, and Bruce shrugged, gesturing to Tony. “Love is good. Life’s short? What do you want to hear?”

“No, this is the end,” Tony groaned, disconnecting himself from the monitoring equipment. “I’ll be in the workshop. JARVIS, make sure Bucky’s access is revoked, and maybe, ah, let’s play hide and seek, yeah?”

“Sir…”

“Listen to daddy, now, he’s had a very hard day,” Tony chided. “Thanks, Brucie.”

Only, Bucky was directly outside the door, which meant Tony had to shriek in a very brave and superheroy way before all but running into the elevator. Bucky stared after him, apparently too surprised to pursue.

+

“Come on, Tony,” Steve begged, giving Tony  _The Look_  as the doors slid shut on him.

Sure, he felt guilty. Cap was just looking out for him, which was sweet, but not sweet enough to change his mind. Avoiding Bucky at all costs was the best way to handle everything.

+

Just because he was avoiding Bucky didn’t mean he couldn’t watch Bucky on the surveillance cameras throughout the house. He felt a horrible mixture of hopeful and mortified whenever he saw his friend come down to the workshop only to be turned away.

He knew Bucky would let him down easy, would be real nice about it and everything, but any way you shook it, it’d still hurt.

If only he’d kept his stupid mouth shut!

+

Bucky was persistent. It was getting harder and harder to avoid Bucky. Tony was almost positive that Natasha was helping him. He was doomed.

+

“I get the vents now.”

Clint just laughed, and passed his bag of oreos over. “You gonna ever talk to the guy again?”

“Sure,” Tony agreed, spinning the two halves of cookie apart and eating the filling. “As soon as he forgets the whole me loving him thing.”

Clint studied him for a moment. “So, never then. Great.” He yanked the bag of cookies away from Tony. “Get your own vent.”

“They’re all my vents,” Tony whined, trying and failing to get the cookies back.

+

He should have known it was only a matter of time, but it still caught him by surprise when he stepped into the bathroom of a restaurant in Venice only to find Bucky Barnes waiting for him.

“Shit.”

The former assassin flipped the lock on the door and leaned back against it. “Three weeks. Three  _weeks_  you’ve been avoiding me!”

“Look, I get it, you want closure. I can appreciate that.” Tony held his hands up, almost as if warding off a blow.

Bucky was shaking his head, looking more frustrated by the moment. “Tony, you beautiful, frustrating, pain in the ass,” he snapped. “You’re the stupidest genius I’ve ever met!”

Tony’s mouth fell open, but then snapped shut again, because he was pretty sure ‘beautiful’ had made it into the mix somehow.

“Did it ever occur to you that—I dunno—maybe I feel the same way?”

“No.” It was the truth, but he felt sort of bad for saying it, what with the way Bucky’s face just sort of scrunched up all wounded and adorably vulnerable. “I mean, why would I? You’re…”

“In love with you,” Bucky interrupted. “Have been for a while, Tony.”

Huh. That was not what he’d been expecting. “You’re sure you know the definition of love? I’m talking like, full on love. Swapping bodily fluids love.”

Bucky hung his head, rubbed at his face with his hands. “Yeah, Tony, you punk, I know what love means. Cripes.”

“Oh,” because, huh. “Wow, seriously?” Bucky glared at him, and Tony held his hands up in surrender. “Sorry, just. Oh, ow, no. So, you’ve been spending the last three weeks trying to _reciprocate_?”

“Yes,” Bucky answered, and if Tony needed proof Bucky wasn’t kidding, that was pretty good right there. Most people wouldn’t have bothered after three days.

“Bucky, I am so sorry,” Tony said, taking a step forward.

“C’mere,” Bucky ordered, opening his arms. The hugging was, as he’d suspected, much better when he wasn’t dying. “Pain in my ass,” Bucky muttered, but he was kissing Tony, so that was okay.

“Still love me?” Tony asked a couple days later. And again after that. Maybe he asked it every day, just to be sure.

“Yup,” Bucky answered. He always answered that way, every time Tony asked. “Even if you  _are_  still a pain in my ass,” Bucky said sweetly in Russian, smiling at an oblivious Tony. He switched to English, then asked, “Still love  _me_?”

“Yuh huh,” Tony agreed every day, because it was still true.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Tony. What're you doing?!


End file.
